New homes put strain on sewerage system
OLD infrastructure and the municipal sewerage network struggling to cope with new homes in some areas in Nelson Mandela Bay are two of the reasons blocked drains are causing raw sewage to flow down streets.
A drive around the city last week revealed a large number of streets filled with pools of sewage.
In Mzwandile Street, Jose Slovo, sewage has been flowing for the past six months, with residents saying they have to stay behind closed doors because of the stench.
Nobuntu Magobiyane, 44, said residents had reported the blocked drain numerous times but they just kept getting a reference number.
“We have to keep our children indoors because at times you find them playing in this dirty water,” she said.
And the situation had become worse since the municipality started repairing the road.
In Andiswa Street, also in Joe Slovo, some of the houses are surrounded by stagnant water.
At new houses in Chatty Extension, raw sewage is spewing out of drains.
Melanie Bekeer, 42, said the water has formed a dam of sewage around her house.
“The dirty water even comes out of my bathtub. We have moved to our new houses but we cannot enjoy them. There are lots of mosquitoes as a result of the water.” This created a health hazard. Municipal spokesman Mthubanzi Mniki said ageing infrastructure and lack of capacity to deal with new homes was to blame.
“Both these issues are contributing factors to the sewage problems in the townships. We have received complaints and a team of technicians will attend to them.”
He said another cause of blocked drains was that people threw foreign objects into them.
“These objects block the system and that leads to burst pipes and leakages,” Mniki said.